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World of FootballAll non Palace football talk - includes latest scores on Internationals and matches that affect palace.

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"Every time a new player comes to the club I always try to make them understand what it means to play for Crystal Palace. It's a place unlike other clubs, the fans they're just incredible and I want them to understand that. It's part of my job as a senior player to make sure they know what it is and the passion behind it." - Speroni

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Two things stand out when you first meet John Bostock. First there is the flamboyant haircut, bleached on top and shaved on the sides. Then, less conspicuous but certainly more permanent, you notice how transparently he wears his faith. “It’s the biggest part of my life,” the 26-year-old midfielder, now at Toulouse, says. “I try to live it out, not just with my mouth but with my actions.”

As time has passed, and the boy once courted by Barcelona after making his Crystal Palace debut at the age of 15 became a man in some of European football’s less salubrious destinations, his trust in God has been a constant companion, carrying him through the good times and bad. And then there was the night in March last year when his life flashed before his eyes, the car crash that “100 per cent” strengthened his belief that a higher being has a specific plan in mind.

Driving home to London after playing a French second-division game for Lens in Paris, a drunk driver travelling on the wrong side of the M20 at 80mph collided with Bostock’s VW Touareg head on. A passenger in the other car died at the scene and the impact was so gruesome, leaving Bostock’s SUV mangled, it was a miracle that he escaped with whiplash.

Anger would have been the most natural reaction but, plunging deep into his well of compassion, he forgave Christopher Clement, a former Royal Engineer who served in Iraq and was jailed for five years. “I’ve been thinking about going to see him and say that I don’t hold any bitterness,” Bostock says. “He made a bad decision and is having to pay for that behind bars and unfortunately the death of one of his best friends. I don’t harbour any unforgiveness.”

If anything, rather perversely, there was reason to be thankful. “I’m grateful that I went through it because, if someone else had that crash, they might not have survived,” he adds. “I’m glad that car hit me and not somebody else. If my wife and son were with me, it would have been a tragedy. And it fuels me more to be the best father, the best husband, the best footballer that I can be.”

So, as we sit in Toulouse’s stadium, reminiscing about his past and pondering what the future holds, it is unsurprising that to be merely here, at last playing regularly in one of Europe’s top five leagues, is something that he cherishes every day.

The route to Ligue 1 has been long and winding. When a video of his initiation song at Toulouse, a performance of Billie Jean including elaborate dance routine, went viral in the summer, it was impossible not to consider that he has had plenty of practice. When you are at a 12th club in a decade, such ceremonies tend to become second nature.

Yet this version, viewed more than a million times on Twitter, carried additional gusto. Joining Toulouse represents Bostock’s biggest opportunity since his time with Tottenham Hotspur ended with a whimper and suggestions that the youngest player to play for Spurs and Crystal Palace was a flop, a victim of the too- much-too-soon culture.

His incipient years have long served as a cautionary tale for young players. To refresh your mind: Bostock grew up as a Palace fan, a season ticket-holder since five years old, but seven months after he made his debut for them at 15, with many of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Barcelona, taking a keen interest, they fell out over a contract offer and Tottenham swooped. He displayed flashes of potential early on at White Hart Lane but, struggling to break into a team containing Luka Modric, was sent on a series of loans with mixed results before being released at the end of his contract in 2013.

With that in mind, what advice would he have for the next teenager pushed onto a pedestal? “Be patient and remember that you can’t always make the right decision,” he says. “We tried to make what we thought was the right decision at the time but, in hindsight, we learnt that it wasn’t. Also, as I’ve shown, it’s not the be-all and end-all. You can continue to persevere and go on to achieve in the game.”

The rebuilding process began at Royal Antwerp under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in Belgium’s second division and he has since impressed at Leuven, Lens and Turkey’s Bursaspor. But his first trip back to Selhurst Park in the summer has reignited something deep inside.

With a stroke of fortune he signed for Toulouse a week before his first and latest teams met in a pre-season friendly in south London. Owing to the tempestuous reaction when he moved to Spurs, his dad gave up their season tickets and had not returned in the decade since, meaning that there was some apprehension about how supporters would react.

As it turned out, it felt like they had never left. Entering the ground, Bostock’s eyes grew heavy and they were welling up again when the Palace fans applauded his introduction. “It was very emotional,” he says, and it crystallised a desire to finish where he started.

“I’ve got a young family and I’ve been away from England for half a decade. That makes you appreciate how good football in Europe is but also that there is no place like home. And so I feel like my big goal is to be able to play where it all started again, at my boyhood club.”

It seems a long shot but he has not given up hope of an England call-up either. “It’s my dream, it’s always been a goal,” he says, having been in the system up to under-19 level. “I think about it a lot, especially with how Gareth Southgate has changed things.

“I might not be one of the youngest players but I believe coming abroad and learning my trade here gives me a good chance to be involved in the future. If I continue to play well this season, eyes will be on me. If I can impress them, fantastic, but my focus is doing my best in this league.”

For now Toulouse, in eighth position, are exceeding expectations. They escaped a relegation play-off last season but the hiring of the manager Alain Casanova, who approached Bostock to sign from Bursaspor having worked with him at Lens, has galvanised the club. Bostock has been moved into a deeper role, a liaison between the back four and three attacking midfielders, and stresses Casanova’s emphasis on “playing the right way”.

Paris Saint-Germain will almost certainly win their sixth title in seven years but, with some of the other big names starting slowly, Toulouse are targeting a top-half finish.

No matter what happens next, Bostock will consider it part of God’s plan. Religion was not instilled in him at a young age, neither of his parents was a believer, but when he went to the Christian Life Fellowship in Greenwich with his sister around the time that he was breaking into Palace’s first team, his outlook transformed. “From the first time I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news, I realised that I needed a relationship with God,” he says. “Since I made that decision, my life has changed.”

That life has not always been easy, especially moving countries so often. “Sacrificing being in your comfort zone is difficult, especially with a young family,” he says, but such strong belief combined with growing up early in the spotlight has enabled him to become a confidant for team-mates.

“When you see players going through family issues or a dip in form, you find they want to talk to you and hear what you have to say,” he adds. “There are a lot of different faiths, especially here in France, but I’ve realised that there is a growing desire from players to have a relationship with God.”

That has led to him establishing Ballers in God, a meeting group for like-minded footballers. More than 20 from across Europe have joined, discussing the meaning of it all in a WhatsApp group and in weekly Skype calls. “Every week we talk about life, we study the Bible and we pray a little,” he says, wearing a wristband publicising the group. “It’s a place to come where players can openly express what they are going through and understand their faith and form a relationship with players of the same mind.”

The influence of les rosbifs in Ligue 1 may have declined since the late-1980s peak of Waddle, Hoddle and Wilkins — the only other English player in the league is Sheyi Ojo, the winger who is on loan at Reims from Liverpool — but Bostock is adamant that more English players should move to France. “A lot of eyes are on the league after the World Cup and Toulouse is a beautiful place,” he says. “A great city, very multicultural.”

His French is coming along — “I’ve not cracked it yet, although they appreciate that I’m trying” — but there will be no Joey Barton-style veering into speaking with a twang because no time away can soften his south London roots. His wife and son have also settled quickly in the southwest of France but home, and he hopes the Premier League, will beckon soon. “I’m really happy here in Toulouse,” he says, “but ultimately I want to go back.”

When he does, there is no disputing his preferred destination. Maybe his dad can get their old seats back.

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"Every time a new player comes to the club I always try to make them understand what it means to play for Crystal Palace. It's a place unlike other clubs, the fans they're just incredible and I want them to understand that. It's part of my job as a senior player to make sure they know what it is and the passion behind it." - Speroni

Thanks, nice article. I'd like to see him back, seems a really likeable guy and I've completely forgiven him for what happened in the past. Whether he's good enough I've no idea but at least he'd play for the shirt and it's always great to have local lads in the squad.

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"F**k the Pope".
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A Message From CPFC2010

To come back he would need to be good enough. Don’t think he is. Several years ago when I was interviewing staff from the premier league and I got onto what they knew about the team they said how Spurs regretted getting him because he was such a knob. Felt he could take time off when he should have been putting the club first. Need to put your football first if you are going to make it. Although we have some religious players such as Joel W they put being ready to play. Think he will always think about what could have been. Good luck to him.

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At least I score.............
Just because you are not paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you.........

Thanks, nice article. I'd like to see him back, seems a really likeable guy and I've completely forgiven him for what happened in the past. Whether he's good enough I've no idea but at least he'd play for the shirt and it's always great to have local lads in the squad.

Mccarthur is a solid grafter who does tend to get into the right positions to chip in with a few goals. But having no Cabaye and him being depended on to be the creator is really showing his limitations big time IMO.

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"I'm a South London boy and Crystal Palace is my club"

Nice read that. Very balanced and mature outlook on life based on the many experiences it has thrown at him. Good luck to him. Don't know if he's at our level now but rooting for him to show he's good enough to be considered.

He was their best player in the friendly, I don't think he'd look out of place here. Takes a good set piece too.

I thought he was OK. Didn't do anything wrong but hardly set the turf ablaze. His career so far has had something of the competent journeyman about it. Perhaps we were all guilty of over hyping him when he was with us?

__________________"This is what we find, This is what we find, the hope that springs eternal, springs right up your behind"

I thought he was OK. Didn't do anything wrong but hardly set the turf ablaze. His career so far has had something of the competent journeyman about it. Perhaps we were all guilty of over hyping him when he was with us?

I don't think we over hyped him when he was with us more that his career plummeted once he left us. I have no doubt he would have had his chance at a top 4 club if he stayed with us as Wilf did.

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"Every time a new player comes to the club I always try to make them understand what it means to play for Crystal Palace. It's a place unlike other clubs, the fans they're just incredible and I want them to understand that. It's part of my job as a senior player to make sure they know what it is and the passion behind it." - Speroni

Heard a Dutch coach on the radio the other day say that it is so important for a young player to get week in week out game time. Between the ages of 18-22, a player should be playing competitive first team football every week for the best of their development. Playing in academy/Under 23’s etc...doesn’t help with players fulfilling their potential.

It’s kind of obvious isn’t it, but in these days of the big clubs being able to stockpile players, many youngsters have fallen foul of this trap. It’s criminal really. Bostock was clearly advised very badly at such a tender age. As things panned out with administration, he would’ve been in the first team every week and would’ve had time to really learn his craft as Wilf did. It’s probably too late now. Loftus Cheek take note!